Where oh where is the North Carolina wine? Or perhaps the better question is, why aren’t more places serving North Carolina wine? For a food scene that prides itself on sourcing locally, it's mind-boggling that we have an exciting — and growing — wine scene within a couple of hours of both Charlotte and the Triangle, and yet I struggle to find a place to buy a bottle of NC wine, let alone get served a glass with dinner.

It had been a while since I’d explored our region’s wine, so I made a few trips to North Carolina wine country over the past few months. What I found is that our state is making really good wine. Seriously. Banish the idea of syrupy sweet muscadine wine and buckle up because I’m about to give you a crash course on North Carolina wine and why you should be drinking it.

Let’s start with some numbers. According to one industry analysis, North Carolina ranks seventh in the United States in terms of volume of wine produced and tenth when it comes to the number of wineries. The Old North State is home to five distinct American Viticultural Areas (AVAs), geographically similar to European appellations like France’s Bordeaux or Germany’s Mosel. While wine is produced across the whole state from the mountains to the coast, the vast majority of North Carolina’s quality wine production happens in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, where you’ll find the Swan Creek and Yadkin Valley AVAs.

“But the wine!” you say. “Isn’t it sweet? I hate sweet wine!” Yes, while sweet wine made from the native muscadine grape has been an important part of North Carolina’s wine evolution, to paint the state’s entire wine industry with the same sugary brush is not only unfair, it’s just plain wrong.

The 2019 Chambourcin from Grassy Creek Vineyard in the Yadkin Valley is earthy and rich (Cynthia Douthit/Grassy Creek Vineyard)

Each hill and holler throughout Western North Carolina creates its own mini climatic zone, which translates to one of the most diverse grape-growing scenes I’ve ever encountered. Those famous European appellations are legally required to grow only certain grapes. Here, the choice is up to the grape grower and winemaker. In a single day over the summer, I tasted an earthy, rich Chambourcin at Grassy Creek Vineyards, a Reserve Claret from Shelton Vineyards that was a blend of Cabernet Franc, Tannat, Merlot, Malbec, and Cabernet Sauvignon, and a wonderful Sangiovese from Elkin Creek Vineyards that practically transported me back to Italy.

The Sangiovese from Elkin Creek Vineyard might just transport you to Italy (Elkin Creek Vineyard)

With each new winery I visited, I was impressed by the sheer diversity of grapes the various winemakers chose to work with along with the people behind the wines. I met a tasting room attendant who came to North Carolina from California because she was so enamoured with our wine scene. I visited two different veteran-owned wineries (Golden Road Vineyards and Haze Gray Vineyards) whose owners specifically moved to Western North Carolina to fulfill dreams of opening their own operations. Everywhere I turned I met people who were excited about the future of North Carolina wine.

And it’s not just the foothills of Yadkin and Surry counties where you can find exceptional wine. Plēb Urban Winery in Asheville sources grapes from local growers to create some of the most unique wines in the state. FireClay Cellars in Siler City, just a short drive from the Triangle, delivers a range of delicious dry wines from estate-grown grapes like Chambourcin, Chardonel, and Cabernet Franc. Out on the coast, in Jarvisburg, just a short distance from the Currituck Sound, Sanctuary Vineyards is dispelling the myth that only muscadine grows on the coast. Their skin-contact Viognier is a must-try for natural wine lovers.

The vineyards at Sanctuary include Cabernet, Sangiovese, and Syrah grapes alongside traditional muscadines (John Wright/Sanctuary Vineyards)

So again, I ask — with a plethora of wonderful homegrown wines, why are they so hard to find in our state’s restaurants and wine shops? My guess is that it’s a perfect storm of consumer bias and market demand. As long as people continue to believe that North Carolina doesn’t produce good wine, they won’t ask for it, and restaurants won’t bother serving it.

Still, there are a few places where one can find a glass or bottle of NC wine, like Herons at Cary’s Umstead Spa and Hotel or Raleigh’s celebrated Angus Barn. Various locations of the Triangle Wine Shop usually offer some North Carolina wines for sale, like another favorite of mine, Jones von Drehle.

Shelton Vineyards has been producing wine in North Carolina's Yadkin Valley since 1999 (Rachel Roseman/Shelton Vineyards)

If we are to celebrate and grow the exciting wine scene right here in our own backyards, then the burden falls on us, the wine drinker, to start making some demands. Ask for North Carolina wine at your favorite restaurants, wine bars, and shops. If they don’t carry any, offer your recommendations, and whenever you see North Carolina wine on the menu, order a glass or bottle to show your support. We show so much love for our local farmers, cheesemakers, brewers, and distillers, why not spread that love to our winemakers as well? We might just help dispel all those nasty rumors about North Carolina wine, and we’ll certainly get to enjoy some tasty sips along the way.